Civil Rights
• In this chapter we will learn about past
discrimination and the federal laws
which now work to guarantee the fair
and equal treatment of all Americans.
• Think of one instance in your lives
where you have been discriminated
against.
“Our constitution is color-blind, and
neither knows nor tolerates classes
among citizens. In respect of civil rights,
all citizens are equal before the law.”
-Justice John Marshall Harlan (1896)
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
 Civil Rights – what the government must do for us
to ensure equal protection against discrimination.
Examples: right to vote; equality in job opportunity,
education, and housing; no age, gender or disability
discrimination; and equal protection under the law.
 Civil Liberties – protections against arbitrary
government actions (setting forth what the
government (can/cannot do). Civil liberties include
individual freedoms in the Bill of Rights [religion,
speech, press, assembly, petition, rights of accused,
etc.] Protection against government interference.
Chapter Objectives:
1. The make-up of the U.S. population
2. What are our guarantees of equality?
3. The Civil Rights laws passed since 1957
4. Acquiring U.S. citizenship
White
Hispanics Blacks
200
44
40
66%
15%
13%
*2050 Projections
*208
*96
*53
+6%
+197%
+60%
Asians
15
5%
*32
+209%
Nat. Amer.
2.1
1%
*3.5
+72%
The way things are going, August of 2020 will be designated
“White History Month”
Section 1.
Diversity and Discrimination in American Society
Section Focus: To understand the multicultural character of the U.S.
population and how we have historically treated women and minority
groups.
Heterogeneous Population
1. Historically, the population of the
U.S. has been predominantly white.
2. In recent years, the *nonwhite population
has grown much more rapidly than the
white population. So, the *population is
1 now more heterogeneous (diverse).
3. There are 6 million more females
than males.
A Heterogeneous Society
1. White Americans [200 million] historically
have failed to allow other minority groups to
take an equal place in society. They have faced
2 much difficulty achieving equality.
2. Hispanics [44 million] are the largest minority
group in the U.S. They come from 22 different
countries. The four main groups are 7 Mexican
[22 million], Puerto Rican [3 million], Cuban [1 million],
and Central or South American descent [3 million].
3. African Americans [40 million] have been the
victims of the most unjust treatment. Many of the
gains made by the nation in granting equality to all
persons have arisen out of efforts made by and on
behalf of African Americans. 3
A Heterogeneous Society
5 4.
Asian Americans [15 million]. With the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese immigration was
severely restricted for nearly 80 years due to racial
discrimination. [Competition of “coolie labor”].
Having grown 50% in the last few years, they are
6 the fastest growing minority group. Gary Locke of
Washington state, in 1996, became the 1st Chinese
American to be a State governor. Asians include
800,000 Koreans and 1.5 million Filipinos.
5. Native Americans [2.1 million] Since arrival of
European settlers in the Americas their population
has dropped 4 drastically (due to disease, warfare,
and unjust treatment) from 1 million in 1700 to
237,000 in 1900. Their life span is 10 years shorter
and their infant mortality is 3 times greater. ½ live
on reservations. [308 tribes speak 200 languages;
tribes are “nations”.]
Discrimination Against Women
• Although women are the majority of the
U.S. population [6 million more], they
have faced systematic discrimination.
• Although women’s suffrage and equal pay laws have been
passed, women still do not hold positions of power in
equal numbers with men nor do they earn as much as men.
•8 More than ¾ of all jobs held by women are in low-paying
clerical and service occupations so their pay is .80 for
every $1 a man receives.
• Women hold less than 1% of the nations top public offices.
• 10% of Congress 535 seats are held by women.
• Only 1% of more than 10,000 who have served in the House
were women. [1% is good for milk but is it good for Congress?]
• 20% of seats in state legislatures are held by women.
• 20% of doctors, lawyers, & college professors are women.
The Supreme Court Declared These
Government Actions Unconstitutional
• Provisions of Social Security laws providing benefits to
families with unemployed fathers but not unemployed moms.
• A state law giving sons child support from their fathers
until they are 21, but daughters only until they are 18.
• A state law prohibiting the sale of beer to males under 21,
but to females under 18.
• A state law providing that husbands, but not wives, may
be required to pay alimony.
• A State law excluding males from enrolling in a
professional nursing program, designed for women,
offered by a public university.
• So, the constitution protects men as well as women
from discrimination because of sex.
Section 2. Equality Before The Law
1. What is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
amendment and how has it been applied and interpreted.
2. Difference between de jure [by “law”] and de facto [in “fact”] segregation
Equal Protection Clause [Due Process] in 14th Amendment
•9 No State shall…deny to any (no) person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws. This clause was originally intended
for the newly freed slaves.
• It forbids states to draw unreasonable distinctions between different
10 classes of persons. Some distinctions based on committing crimes
or being underage are acceptable.
• A. Reasonable Classification – The government must have the power
to draw reasonable distinctions between persons and groups. The
Supreme court has had to decide many times whether particular laws
are unfairly discriminatory.
• 1.) The Rational Basis Test – This test is used to determine equal protection
11
cases] does the classification in question bear a reasonable relationship
to the achievement of some proper governmental purpose?
2.) The Strict scrutiny Test makes things more difficult 12
a. In cases dealing with “fundamental rights” such as the
right to vote, or “suspect classifications,” such as those based
on race or sex, the Supreme Court imposes the strict scrutiny test.
Example: There can’t be government aid to just one race. 13
b. This test requires that the State prove that some “compelling
governmental interest” justifies the distinctions it has drawn. A law
forbidding redheads with freckles from voting would not pass.
• States may not discriminate unreasonable. States tax smokers, but not
nonsmokers. They can’t tax only male smokers or brunette smokers. A
state can not make women eligible for alimony but say that men are
not. The Court found that need, not sex is the factor on which alimony
is based.
Segregation in America
Separate-But-Equal Doctrine
• In the late 1800s, blacks were more likely to be convicted
than whites & faced harsher penalties for the same crime.
For crimes against whites, justice had a heavy hand.
• The KKK brought terror and death to blacks who dared
assert their constitutional rights. Over a 20-year period
in the late 1800s, there were some 2,000 lynching’s or illegal hangings
of blacks. One black was lynched about every four days.
• Nearly half the States passed racial segregation laws – Jim Crow laws.
These laws required segregation by race in using both public and
private facilities such as hotels, restaurants, parks, schools, and
transportation. One southern city even passed an ordinance making it
unlawful for a black and white to play checkers or dominoes together.
Why It’s Called “Jim Crow”
14
Nineteenth-century minstrel shows typically featured white performers
in blackface. “Jim Crow” was the title of an early minstrel song & soon
was used to refer to any black person. Hence, “Jim Crow” laws were
those specially written to segregate blacks from whites.
• The Citizens' Committee asked Homer
Plessy to agree to violate Louisiana's
Separate Car law, which required the
segregation of passenger trains by race.
• On June 7, 1892, Plessy, bought a firstclass ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad
and sat in the "whites- only“ passenger
car. When the conductor came to collect
his ticket, Plessy told him that he was 7/8
white and that he refused to sit in the
"blacks-only" car. Plessy was immediately
arrested and booked into the parish jail,
and released the next day on a $500 bond.
• On May 18, 1896, [Plessy v. Ferguson] 15
Justice Henry Billings Brown delivered
the majority opinion in favor of the State
of Louisiana stating that stating that
segregation in public facilities was not
unconstitutional as long as the facilities
were substantially equal…. Later courts
focused on the “separate”, but not “equal”.
Impact of Plessy
• The Court said the 14th amendment was meant for
civil and political equality, not social equality.
• The Court’s decision set a precedent for almost 60 years the view that
blacks were not being denied equal treatment because they were
provided with “separate” public facilities if those facilities were equal
to those provided for whites.
• Justice Harlan dissented, saying all people were equal in the eyes of
the constitution and racial differences were unconstitutional.
• “Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows or tolerates classes
among citizens… The law regards man as man, and takes no account
of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights are involved.”
• The Plessy decision formalized third-class citizenship for blacks. Every
aspect of life in the South became racially segregated by law. Oklahoma
had separate phone booths. Atlanta courts had separate Bibles for
swearing in blacks or whites. Office buildings had separate elevators
and drinking fountains. A New Orleans ordinance assigned white and
black prostitutes to separate sections of town. Little effort was made to
see that the separate accommodations were equal. They were not most
of the time. Things weren’t much different in the north.
Gaines case of 1938
In 1938, Lloyd Gaines applied to an all-white
law school in Missouri. The State did not have
a law school for blacks, but did offer to pay his
tuition in any of four neighboring States, where
blacks were admitted on an equal basis. Gaines
declined and appealed to the Court.
The Court said Missouri had two choices:
1. Admit Gaines to the state’s law school, or
2. Establish a separate-but-equal one for him,
so he was admitted.
Sweatt v. Painter – 1946
Heman Sweatt applied for admission the UT Law
School. He was very qualified but was rejected
and sued. Texas had set up another for blacks but
Sweatt argued that it was not equal to the white
school. In 1950, the Court ordered the integration of
UT Law School. T.S. Painter was the UT President.
16
• In 1951, a class action suit was filed
against the Board of Education of the City
of Topeka, Kansas in the U.S. District
Court for the District of Kansas. The
plaintiffs were thirteen Topeka parents on
behalf of their twenty children.
• The suit called for the school district to
reverse its policy of racial segregation.
Separate elementary schools were
operated by the Topeka Board of
Education under an 1879 Kansas law
which permitted (but did not require)
districts to maintain separate elementary
school facilities for black and white
students in twelve communities with
populations over 15,000.
• In 1954, the Warren Court handed down
a 9-0 decision which stated, in no
uncertain terms, that "separate
educational facilities are inherently
unequal.
Harry F. Byrd
Orval Faubus
Not everyone accepted the Brown decision.
17
• Integration moved very slowly, Senator Harry F. Byrd [VA]
organized the Massive Resistance movement that included
the closing of schools rather than desegregating them.
• In 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus (D) called out his
state's National Guard in 1957 to block black students‘ entry
to Little Rock High School. President Dwight Eisenhower
responded by deploying elements of the 101st Airborne
Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to Arkansas and by
federalizing Faubus' National Guard.
Gov. George Wallace
blocking the door
Not everyone accepted the Brown decision.
• In 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace personally blocked
the door to Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama to
prevent the enrollment of two black students. This became
the infamous "Stand at the Schoolhouse Door," during which
Wallace declared "segregation now, segregation tomorrow,
segregation forever. “ He moved aside only when confronted
by federal marshals and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas
Katzenbach.
In 1968, the Open Housing Act was passed, forbidding discrimination in
the sale or rental of homes
• In United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education (1969)
Judge Frank Johnson’s desegregation order for teachers was upheld,
allowing an approximate ratio of the races to be established by a district judge.
• In the Burger Court’s first desegregation case, Alexander v. Holmes
County Board of Education (1969) the Court declared it to be the
obligation of all districts to eliminate dual school systems immediately.
This opinion also proclaimed "no longer constitutionally permissible" the
"all deliberate speed" formula that the Supreme Court had adopted in
1955 to describe the pace at which the desegregation of southern schools
must proceed.
Little Rock Nine
In 1957, a federal judge ordered the admission of nine
black students to white Central High in Little Rock. Gov.
Faubus ordered out the National Guard to prevent the
black children from entering to “protect the peace and
tranquility of the community.”. The federal government
ordered him to remove the National Guard. Riots broke out. Ike had to
send regular army units to restore order.
On Monday, September 23, the nine black students left for Central High. They
rode to school in army station wagons, surrounded by jeeps with soldiers
holding machineguns with drawn bayonets. There was a mob awaiting them.
Inside the school, the black students became the brunt of various jokes. White
students spat on them, tripped them, and yelled insults. By 11:30, the city
police surrounding the school felt that they could no longer control the mob.
The students had to leave the school through a rear entrance.
To ensure that they could complete a full day of classes, Eisenhower sent the
101st Airborne Division to patrol outside the school and escort the students
into school and escort them to classes. They were subjects of unspeakable
hatred. White students yelled insults in the halls and during class. They beat
up the black boys. They walked on the heels of the blacks until they bled.
They destroyed their lockers and threw flaming paper wads at them in the
bathrooms. They threw lighted sticks of dynamite at Melba Pattillo, stabbed
her, and sprayed acid in her eyes. The acid was so strong that had a 101st
guard not splashed water on her face immediately, she would have been blind
the rest of her life.
Little Rock Nine [continued]
Gradually the students were left to fend for themselves.
In February, Minnijean Brown, after being provoked by
white students, called one of the girls, “white trash”
and dumped a bowl of chili on her head. She was
expelled. The whites were jubilant, making up cards
that said, “One down…eight to go!” The others did
graduate under the watchful eye of 125 guardsmen.
South Boston -1974
The city of Boston was found guilty of segregation in the
city’s schools in 1974. Although most school integrated
quietly, in South Boston, protestors “stoned buses,
shouted racial insults, and hurled eggs and rotten
tomatoes.”
One night, a prominent black leader received a phone call telling him not to send
the students to school the next day. Community leaders intercepted the buses
and they spent the day at UMass. There had been about 2,000 people waiting
for the buses in South Boston. The protesters had planned to turn the buses
over and burn them. Racial tensions continued to escalate.
On a normal day there would be ten to fifteen fights. You could walk down the hall
and a black person would bump into a white person or vice versa. That would
be one fight. That could lead to another fight and another. Some days, one
fight could lead to school dismissal to avoid more fights.
South Boston
[continued]
You can’t imagine how tense it was in the
classroom. A teacher was almost afraid
to say the wrong thing, because they
knew that would excite the whole class.
The black students sat on one side of the class and the white students sat
on the other side of the class. Racial tensions erupted in December
when a black student stabbed a white classmate. White students ran
around screaming that the white student was dead. The principal
ordered the black students into his office for safety reasons as any
student in the halls might be attacked. An angry mob formed outside
of South Boston High. Black parents sent three decoy buses as well
as the two that would actually carry their children away from the
volatile situation.
The black children managed to survive their first year in
South Boston. Looking back, many black students felt they
could have received a better education at an all-black
school simply because the all-black schools did not have
to cope with the racial tensions and the violence.
18 De Jure [by “law”] Segregation – segregation that is a result
of law, with legal sanction. These school systems were
abolished in 1970. Nowhere in the country was a public
school legally identified as for whites or blacks.
19 De Facto [in “fact”] Segregation [segregation in “fact”] –
segregation that results from housing patterns and the practice
of assigning students to neighborhood schools. This problem
existed in northern [De facto] 20 and southern states. Schools had to
redraw school district lines, reassign pupils & bus students.
Swann v. Charlotte Meckleburg Board of Ed. – 1971
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found that a court-ordered
plan for integrating historically segregated public schools was
constitutional. The justices ruled that the plan, which included
changing school attendance zones and increased busing of
students to schools not located in their home neighborhoods,
was a reasonable way to “eliminate from the public schools all that remains
of state-imposed segregation” left over from the years before Brown v. Board
of Education. This was saying busing could be used. 21
This was the first sanctioned busing order.
Each day, 20 million students ride buses to school. Fewer than 3% ride due to
court decisions. Buses became a symbol of bitter controversy.
Segregation In Other Fields
Racial segregation in all areas is unconstitutional. These
include: public recreation facilities [like public swimming
pools], state prisons and local jails, local transportation,
and child custody decisions.
In 1967, the court struck down a Virginia law that barred interracial
marriages.
Laws, early on, treated men and women differently and were
seen as necessary to the protection of the “weaker or
22 inferior sex.”
The court has said it is 23 unconstitutional to exclude
women from jury duty.
Many of these laws were designed to protect women from night work,
overtime work, heavy lifting, and “bad elements” in society. In practice,
they often succeeded in discriminating against women.
Until recently, the legal status of women was one of substantial
inequality. 19th century law regarded husband and wife as one person,
and “the one husband was the one.” In the 1970s, over 900 sex-based
federal laws were on the books.
Sex Discrimination [continued]
In 1873, the Court had its first case in which sex
discrimination was challenged. In Illinois, the
court upheld a state law barring women from
practicing law. One justice wrote:
Glass
ceiling
Man is, or should be, woman’s protector and defender.
The natural and proper timidity and delicacy of the
female sex evidently unfits them for many of the
occupations of civil life.
In 1948, the court said a Michigan law restricting
barmaid licenses to wives and daughters of bar
owners was legal because it preserved the
morality and innocence of women.
In 1961, the Court found no fault with a law that required men
to serve on juries but gave women the choice of serving or
not. In other words, “It is still true that a women’s place is
in the home.”
Sex Discrimination
[continued]
The Court looks at things more evenly
now. In 1971, the court for the first
time held that a state law was
illegal because it discriminated
against women.
The Court struck down an Idaho law that gave automatic
preference to men over equally qualified women in the
appointment of estate administrators.
In 1977, the court said that treating women differently from
men [or vice-versa] is unconstitutional when based on no
more than “old notions” about women and the “the role
typing society has long imposed on women.” Throughout
the 70s, the court found a large number of practices that
discriminated against women unconstitutional.
• The first women’s rights activists usually rose out of
the abolitionist movement
Battle for the Vote:
• On July 19. 1848, the Seneca Falls Declaration of
Sentiments and resolutions was signed calling for an
end to “tyranny” over women
• 72 years later in 1920, the 19th Amendment was
ratified granting women the right to vote, but they had
some earlier successes in the states
• These early feminist lobbied, marched, protested and
engaged in civil disobedience
• After the 19th Amendment, women were divided and
the feminist movement lost momentum
• Many women saw their new right to vote as a vehicle
for extending their maternal role into public life
• What resulted was public policy focused on
“protectionism” rather than equality (laws focused on
overtime work, long working hours, heavy lifting, etc)
• States reinforced family laws (husbands were
required to support families, pay child support if
divorced, women almost always got child custody)
• Protecting the family, hence protecting the moral
fabric of the nation was paramount
• Few challenged these protectionist policies, but Alice
Paul authored the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) …
which most saw as a threat to the family
• About the same time that the Vietnam War protesters
mobilized, so did the women’s rights movement
• Books like the Feminine Mystique (1963), and groups
like the National Organization of Women [NOW] and the
National Women’s Political Caucus encouraged
women to challenge societal norms
Reed v. Reed (1971): The Court ruled that any
“arbitrary” gender-based classification violated the
equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment (no
“males are given preference”).
Orr v. Orr (1979): Allowed alimony to both men and
women
Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan (1982):
Mississippi University for Women's single sex
admissions policy violated the 14th Amendment's
equal protection clause… but it could use a system
of “medium scrutiny”
Craig v. Boren (1976): different drinking ages for men
and women a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal
Protection Clause.
Stanton v. Stanton (1975): A state may not have higher
age of “adulthood” for men and women
Female Citadel Cadets
• Feminism still persists, as does protectionism… there are 66
million women in the work force (60% of women);61% are
married; 31 million are heads of households; 2/3 of women with
children are in the workforce.
• Protectionism is not dead… but is on the back burner
Important events for women:
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: banned gender discrimination in
employment
• Title IX of the Education Act of 1972: forbade gender
discrimination in federally subsidized education programs
• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978: sick leave and
health benefits must be provided to pregnant women
• The Civil Rights and Women’s equity in Employment Act of
1991: Hiring and promotion must be equitable And burden of
proof is on employer.
• Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977): No height or weight
requirements unless they deal with a particular duty
• Other laws: no mandatory pregnancy leave; no denial of jobs
based on fear of harming unborn child; states and cities may
prohibit gender discrimination in business and service clubs.
•What About Single Gender Schools?
• Title Ix for bids any discrimination in schools that are
“publicly funded’”
• Therefore, the Virginia Military Institute’s exclusion of women
was unconstitutional (1996)… The Citadel followed suit’
• Women have struggled to get equal pay
for equal work (comparable worth) …
median annual earnings for women is ¾ of
that of men
• Not much has been done to remedy the
problem, but in 1993 the Washington
Supreme Court ruled its state government
had discriminated against women by not
giving them equal pay
Women in the Military:
• Women constitute 11% of the military
and their roles have changed greatly over
time
• In 1975, all of the Service Academies
were opened to women
• But there are difference… only men
must register with selective service
• women may not (officially) serve in
combat
• In 1993 Secretary of Defense Les Aspin
opened combat aviation to women. With
these new opportunities female pilot
numbers are increasing steadily with more
and more women completing pilot
training.
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986):
claim of "hostile environment" sexual harassment is a
form of sex discrimination actionable under Title VII of
the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This decision provided a
clearer definition of what constituted sexual harassment
on the job and under what circumstances the employer
could be held liable for the actions of subordinates.
Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc (1993): The US Supreme
Court decided that a plaintiff alleging sexual harassment
need not demonstrate any concrete psychological harm.
The challenged conduct must be sufficient to create an
objectively hostile or abusive working environment -- an
environment that a reasonable person would find hostile
or abusive.
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1993): the Court held that
an employer is vicariously liable under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 for actionable discrimination caused
by a supervisor. The Court also held that such liability is
subject to an affirmative defense looking to the
reasonableness of the employer's conduct as well as that
of the plaintiff victim.
Burlington Industries, Inc v. Ellerth (1998): an employee
who refuses the unwelcome and threatening sexual
advances of a supervisor, yet suffers no adverse, tangible
job consequences, can recover against the employer
without showing the employer is negligent or otherwise at
fault for the supervisor's actions.
• Davis v. Monroes County Board of
Education (1999): Court focused on
sexual harassment in public schools
and found that school districts can
be held responsible if the
harassment is so pervasive that it
interferes with a student’s education
• The Tailhook Scandal: In 1991, the
35th annual symposium of aircraft
carrier pilots in Las Vegas met. There
were some 4,000 attendees, and
according to a Department of
Defense report, 83 women and 7 men
stated that they had been victims of
assault and sexual harassment
during the meeting.
•On October 29, 1991, the
Department of the Navy terminated
all ties to the association. Although
the association co-operated fully.
PBS reported:
•The careers of fourteen admirals
and almost 300 naval aviators were
scuttled or damaged by Tailhook.
• The elderly have fought for rights and
•
entitlements as well.
• Social security was enacted in 1935 to
supplement retirement income
• The elderly are regularly subject to age
discrimination in employment, often beginning
after age 40
• The Congress passed laws banning age
discrimination
• In 1975, federal funds were withheld from all
institutions that discriminated based on age
(over 40)
• IN 1976, the court did not put age in the
“suspect classification” in a upholding a
requirement that 50 year police officers retire
(was a “basic test”)
• Reeves v. Sanderson (2000): evidence of
employers bias , combined with sufficient
evidence to find that the employee's
justification is false, may permit juries and
judges to conclude that an employer unlawfully
discriminated
• The first rehabilitation laws came about as a
result of WWI, designed to help veterans
• The Rehabilitation Act, which would have also
helped those with disabilities with access issues
and employer discrimination.. It was vetoed by
Richard Nixon twice as “too costly”
• The Education of All Handicapped Children
Act of 1975 allowed all children with disabilities
access to education.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
further prohibited discrimination and also
required employers to make “reasonable
accommodations” for disabled employees
• In 1998, the Court ruled that the ADA offered
protections those with HIV/AIDS
• In 1999, the Court ruled that those with high
blood pressure or a vision impairment are NOT
to be considered disabled if their condition can
be controlled or corrected by medication or
glasses
• Most Americans support such protections of
the disabled, but politicians often oppose these
measure due to their incredible costs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Other Unconstitutional Sex-Based Rulings
A Utah law that made fathers pay child support until the son was 21, but
until the daughter was only 18. [1975]
An Oklahoma law that prohibited the sale of beer to males under 21 and to
females under 18. [1976] So it is 24 unconstitutional to do this.
A provision in the social security law giving widows higher benefits than
widowers (1977) and another giving benefits to families with unemployed
fathers but not to those with unemployed mothers. (1979)
A New York law that allowed an unwed mother, but not an unwed father, to
block the adoption of her infant children. [1979]
An Arizona law permitting public employee retirement plans providing for
smaller pensions for women than for men who paid same premiums. [1983]
Justice William Brennan said:
There can be no doubt that our nation has had a long and
unfortunate history of sex discrimination. Such discrimination
was rationalized by an attitude of “romantic paternalism”
which, in practical effect, put women, not on a pedestal, but
in a cage.
These two sex-based distinctions are constitutional.
1. An Alabama law that does not allow women to serve as prison guards in an all
male penitentiaries [1977].
2. The selective service law that requires men but not women to register for the
draft [1981] is constitutional. 25
3. So laws that treat sexes differently may 26 be upheld if they meet certain criteria.
From 1880 – 1950, no meaningful civil rights act was passed, due to
27 Southern Democrats in Congress blocking any such legislation.
MLK said, “Laws may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”
1.Civil Rights Act of 1957 – set up U.S. Civil Rights Commission
which was to inquire into claims of voter discrimination, and report this to
the president, congress and the media. This act also gave the attorney general
the power to seek injunctions [federal court orders] to prevent interference
with any person’s right to vote in federal elections. Strom Thurman
filibustered this bill for a record, 24 hrs,18 minutes, longest in Senate history.
The bill still passed.
2. Civil Rights Act of 1960 – providing for the appointment of federal
voting referees. They were to serve anywhere a federal court found
voter discrimination. They were given the power to help qualified
voters to register and to vote in federal elections.
These two acts set up modest safeguards to vote.
3. Civil Rights Act of 1964 – [most important-had teeth] much broader
29 measure. It outlaws discrimination in several areas, especially in jobrelated matters. It forbid the use of any registration requirement in an
unfair or discriminatory manner. No literacy test if you completed 6th
grade and you could still vote if there were minor errors in the
30 application form. Violation of this act meant federal funds could be cut off.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed, under certain circumstances, discrimination
based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
• Originally conceived to protect the rights of black people, the bill was amended prior to
passage to protect the civil rights of everyone, & explicitly included women for the 1st time.
• In order to circumvent limitations on the federal use of the equal protection clause handed
down by the Civil Rights Cases, the law was passed under the interstate commerce clause.
• It is a common misconception to think that this act transformed Southern society
overnight. However, once it was implemented, its effects were far reaching and had
tremendous long-term impacts on the whole country:
• racial discrimination was illegal in hotels, motels, restaurants, and other places of public
accommodation
• forbade discrimination in
employment on race, color, national
origin, and gender
• created Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Ordered withholding of funds
from states that have discriminatory
policies
• strengthened voting rights
legislation
• authorized the Justice department
to initiate law suits to desegregate
schools and facilities
4. Voting Rights Act of 1965 - this act made the 15th
Amendment [The right to vote should not be denied based
on race, color, or previous condition of servitude] a truly
effective part of the Constitution. It applied to all elections
held anywhere in the country-state, local, and federal.
This 1965 law directed the attorney general to attack the
constitutionality of the remaining poll tax laws. It also
suspended the use of any literacy test or similar device in
any State or county where less than half of the electorate
had been registered or had voted in the 1964 elections.
Federal officers were given the power to register voters
and oversee the conduct of elections.
This law also said no new election laws can go into effect in
any of those states unless first approved by the
Department of Justice.
This law has been extended 3 times in the Voting Rights Act
amendments of 1960, 1975, and 1982.
In many southern areas, literacy tests were used to
discriminate against blacks. Some States required
applicants to demonstrate that they understood the
national and State constitutions. Although poor
whites often avoided registration out of fear of
embarrassment from failing a literacy test, the tests
were more often used to discriminate against blacks.
Whites were often asked simple questions while blacks were asked
questions that would baffle a Supreme Court Justice. “In the 1960s
southern registrars were observed testing black applicants on such
matters as the number of bubbles in a soap bar, the news contained in a
copy of the Peking Daily, the meaning of obscure passages in state
constitutions, and the definition of terms such as habeas corpus.”
In Louisiana, 49,603 illiterate white voters were able to persuade election
officials they could understand the Constitution, but only two illiterate
black voters were able to do so.
5. Civil Rights Act of 1968 [“Open Housing Act”]–forbids
anyone
based on
28 to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling to any person
race, color, religion, national origin, etc. In 1988,
congress
strengthened this law by allowing the justice
Department to
bring criminal charges against those who
violate its terms.
6. Voting Rights Act of 1970 – extended the voting rights
for another 5 years. It said that for five years, no State
literacy as the basis for any voting requirement.
laws
could use
7. Voting Rights Act of 1975 – the law was extended for 7 more
years. The 5-year ban on literacy test became a permanent one,
and the law’s voter-examiner and pre-clearance provisions were
broadened. In States with sizable minorities (TX), all ballots and
official election materials must be printed both in English and the
language of the minority, or minorities, involved. In 1992, this
language-minority provision was revised to apply to any community
that has a minority-language population of 10,000 or more persons.
Focus
1. Importance of the Civil Rights laws passed since 1957.
2. reasons for adopting affirmative action.
3. Arguments for and against affirmative action.
4. Impact and significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Several methods were employed early in the struggle to end segregation.
Among these were “sit-ins” [sit-in at a restaurant lunch counter that
served only whites] boycotts, and marches. The most important leader
was Martin Luther King, Jr. He led many of the marches and
demonstrations.
Since 1957, Congress has passed a number of Civil Rights laws –
most notably. The Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, 1968, and the
Voting Rights Acts of 1965, 1970, 1975, and 1982. All of these were
designed to improve equality.
The Civil Rights acts of 1957 and 1960 set up modest safeguards
for the right to vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1968 is often called the Open Housing Act.
It forbade racial discrimination in the sale and rental of houses or
apartments.
Rosa Parks – “Mother of civil rights movement”
In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Ms. Parks refused
to give up her seat on a segregated city bus to a white
man. She was arrested for violating the city law calling
for segregated seating on buses, and for blacks to
give up their seats to whites when buses became
filled with passengers.
The black community in Montgomery responded by
boycotting the city bus system, refusing to ride
the buses as long as they continued to be racially
segregated. Martin L. King, Jr., led the Montgomery
bus boycott. The boycott did succeed in integrating
the city bus system.
This was the beginning of the civil rights movement. Segregation was on
its way out.
On the evening of December 1, 1955, Rosa, a seamstress, was asked by a
white bus driver to abandon her seat for a white man who entered the
bus. When she quietly refused, the driver threatened to call the police
unless she gave up her seat. She calmly replied, “Go ahead them.” By
the time police arrived, the driver was very angry, and insisted she be
arrested. She was taken to the police station and finger printed.
Word of her arrest spread quickly. On Dec. 5, prominent
members of the Montgomery black community decided
to take a stand against segregation. The boycott would
continue until the bus segregation laws were changed.
70% of bus passengers were black.
The boycott lasted 382 days, causing the bus company
to lose a vast amount of money. The next year, the
Supreme Court ruled the Montgomery segregation law
illegal. Other cities followed Montgomery’s example.
On August 30, 1994, the nation was stunned to learn that 81-year old Rosa
had been assaulted in her home. Joseph Skipper, an unemployed
black, broke into her home, hit her repeatedly, and stole $53 from her.
Funeral Procession for Rosa Parks - 2003
Behind the fleet of motorcycles, instead of
three limousines, there were three city buses.
The first one was the 1957 bus that carried
Rosa. The second two carried the entourage.
31
Affirmative Action requires employees to take positive steps [affirmative
action] to remedy the effects of past discrimination against women,
and minority groups. Particularly in employment and education. The
federal government begin adoption of these programs in 1965.
The programs were designed to make the work force reflect the general
32 population of the community.
Consider the black man who, for no reason of his own making, did not get
a decent education and today cannot get a decent job.
In 1939, a new high school was built in Virginia. It was to be a school for black
Students. It had no auditorium, no lunchroom, no gym, and no usable locker
rooms. Because there were not enough classrooms to handle the number of
students every room in the school overflowed with students. The textbooks
used were torn and tattered. Rusty, dilapidated buses picked up the students
who lived far from the school.
White students went to a superior high school with great facilities and equipment. The black students were forced to accept these second-rate conditions.
The Brown decision declared that segregation of public schools, like this one,
in Prince County, Virginia, was illegal. It called for school districts that
segregated students by race to integrate their schools.
33
All employers who receive federal funds [employers
who hold government contracts] are required to adopt
affirmative action programs. This policy covers
nearly all of the nation’s major employers.
Ex: A typical employer must make its work force reflect the
general makeup of the population in its locale. It must
employ so many women, so many blacks, and so many
Hispanics. Its program includes steps to correct or prevent
inequalities in pay, promotions, and fringe benefits.
The response of the Supreme Court to affirmative action
34 programs can be described as restrictive.
This has meant hiring and promoting minorities/females,
even when better qualified white males are available.
1. Supporters say some form of preferential
treatment is necessary to break down longstanding patterns of discrimination against
women and minorities. Otherwise, members
of such groups would be at a disadvantage
when competing with white males, who
have not suffered discrimination as a group
in the past.
2. Critics say this amounts to 35 REVERSE
DISCRIMINATION. It demands that preference
be given to females/and or nonwhites solely
on the basis of race or sex, and without
regard to individual merit. It puts whites
under the same kind of discrimination that
women and minorities are subjected to.
Critics also say setting quotas is wrong.
QUOTAS violate the principle of equal
opportunity for all.
Affirmative Action began as a corrective
measure for governmental and social
injustices against demographic groups that
have been said to be subjected to
discrimination in areas such as employment
and education.
• The stated goal: to counteract past and
present discrimination sufficiently that the
power elite will reflect the demographics of
society at large, at which point such a
strategy will no longer be necessary.
• Numerical quotas have been the most
controversial element of Affirmative Action
• Some state governments adopted
Affirmative Action programs and later the
federal government mandated all state and
local governments (and their institutions)
implement Affirmative Action programs.
• One AA program was introduced at UC Davis Medical School where
16 places out of 100 were put aside for disadvantaged groups
• One student who was rejected and took issue with the policy was
Allan Bakke, a Viet Nam vet who had been a top student at Stanford.
• He was particularly upset to learn that the students under the AA
program scored in the 46th percentile on the verbal scores and 35th
percentile in science… Bakke had scored in 96th and 97th respectively.
36
Allan Bakke, a former NASA
engineer becomes a doctor.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978): He charged the school with reverse
discrimination, because it had set aside 16 seats out of 100 en each year’s entering class for
nonwhite students, and had filled that quota with several nonwhites less qualified than
Bakke. The Court ruled 5-4 that while affirmative action systems are constitutional, a quota
system based on race is not. The University could use race as one element weighed
against other elements. They ruled that Bakke had been denied equal protection and should
be admitted. A strict quota system based on race was unconstitutional and in violation of
the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It created a category of admissions from which whites were
excluded solely because of their race.
United Steelworkers Union v. Brian Weber (1979): Conversely, in the U.S. Supreme Court
held that an employer could grant preferential treatment to racial minorities under a private,
voluntary affirmative action program. Affirmative action is a concerted effort by an employer
to rectify past discrimination against specific classes of individuals by giving temporary
preferential treatment to individuals from these classes when hiring and promoting until true
equal opportunity is achieved. Kaiser had reserved ½ of all new positions to minorities as
there had been virtually no blacks previously. Brian Skinner lost out even though he had
more seniority. He sued for reverse discrimination. The Court ruled 5-4 against Skinner.
Quotas were OK in this case as they were trying to overcome manifest racial imbalances.
• Adarand Constructors v. Peña (1995): Case dealing with set
aside quotas for minority owned firms. Racial classifications,
imposed by whatever federal, state, or local government actor,
must be analyzed by a reviewing court under a standard of
"strict scrutiny," the highest level of Supreme Court review
(such classifications are constitutional only if they are
narrowly tailored measures that further compelling
governmental interests).
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a strongly written dissent arguing that the
US’s had to allow suitably tailored programs to reverse the lingering effects of
our nation's past racial discrimination
•Justice John Paul Stevens also dissented arguing the Court had a
convoluted perception of equality.
• Most Americans oppose set aside programs…may suggesting it is
merely reverse discrimination
37
The court has upheld quotas in some later cases when they help overcome effects of
longstanding biases, but has said affirmative action programs may not set racial quotas
[specific numbers], and my not exclude white applicants just because they are white.
In 1980, the court said a “minority set-aside” provision [10%] was a permissible attempt
to overcome the effects of long-standing discrimination in the construction industry.
“Thanks for coming in. It’s such a relief to
be able to deny someone a loan when
there’s no possibility of being charged with
sex, race, age, or ethnic bias.”
In 1984, in Memphis, budget problems forced the layoff of a
number of firefighters. To preserve racial balance, the
department fired some white officers with more seniority
than some blacks whose jobs were saved. The court said
the “Last hired, first fired” seniority policy would stand.
So, job seniority took precedence over court ordered
affirmative action.
In 1986, in Cleveland, the court said a city can, for a limited
time, promote one black firefighter for every white who
received a promotion in its fire department.
In recent years the Court has made it more difficult to prove
discrimination by putting the burden of proof on the
38 employee.
Focus
1. How to acquire citizenship
2. Our policy of immigration
3. Problems associated with illegal aliens
The 14th amendment says a person may
become a citizen either by birth or naturalization.
Einstein becomes a
naturalized citizen in 1940
Citizenship by birth is determined by:
1. 39 Jus soli (soo lee) –where born (the Law of the soil)
Birth in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam,
the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, & the Northern Mariana Islands.
It includes all American embassies, public vessels and aircraft.
Babies born to foreign diplomats on U.S. soil are not U.S. citizens
[not considered born on U.S. soil]
U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, 1989 – established that a person born to two
Chinese citizens living in the U.S. Was a native-born citizen.
2. 40 Jus sanguinis (sang qui nus) – to whom born [the Law of the blood]
A child born abroad is an American citizen if one of his parents is an
American citizen and has lived in the U.S. in the past for 10 years.
41 Naturalization – legal process by which a
citizen of another country becomes a citizen.
Naturalization can occur 3 ways (naturalized citizens)
Act of Congress – 1924 [Indians], 1900 [Hawaii],
1917 [P. Rica], 1927 [Virgin Islands],1950 [Guam],
1868 [African-Americans] [14th Amendment],
1977 [N. Mariana] [16,000 people].
2. Treaty – 1803 [Louisiana Purchase], 1819 [Florida], 1867 [Alaska, 1845
[Texas].
3. Individual Action – about 250,000 aliens become naturalized citizens
each year.
Requirements for Naturalization
1. Have entered the U.S. legally, lived here for 5 years and in some
State for 3 months and be 18 years old.
42 2. File a petition for naturalization.
3. Be literate in English and be of good moral character.
4. Have a knowledge and understanding of our form of government.
5. Take an oath to “support and defend the constitution.”
[Each applicant is investigated]
1.
The three ways to lose your citizenship are:
1. 43 Expatriation – [from fatherland (patria)]. You can be
from your native country if you become
naturalized citizen of another country or if you
renounce your American citizenship to the government.
2. Commit a crime.
3. 44 Denaturalization –can lose citizenship if he
a citizen by fraud or deception.
Citizenship is neither gained nor lost by marriage.
Marriage can shorten the time it takes.
banished
a
becomes
A Nation of Immigrants – over 80 million have come here since 1820.
Congress has the exclusive power to regulate immigration.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the 1st major restriction on
immigration [a list of 30 undesirables was added to this list by 1920)
[convicts, lunatics, paupers, contract laborers, immoral persons,
anarchists, and illiterates]
Some people had to wait at Ellis Island for
months,
the major immigration center,
while their
admissibility was checked.
•
Undocumented aliens are those who have entered
45 the U.S., but have not adhered to legal procedures.
• The first 100 years, we let anyone come in but
since 1882, we have tightened up.
• Over the decades our immigration policy has
46 been marked by a desire to exert careful control
over who can enter the U.S.
• Immigration Act of 1965 –used to be the main
immigration law. Today it is the 1990 Act.
• 1. Eliminated the country-by-country quota system.
• 2. As many as 270,000 immigrants could be admitted each year without regard
to race or country or origin.
• 3. Not more than 20,000 may come from any one country.
• 4. The law favored relatives of citizens and other aliens with special
occupational talents.
• Immigration Act of 1990–basic immigration law of today. [modified in 96]
•
•
•
•
•
1. Sets an annual ceiling of 675,000.
2. Short supply occupations [up to 140,000] get preference [engineers, scientists]
3. As many as 100,000 political refugees are allowed in. There has to be well founded
fears of persecution. They can become residents after one year.
4. 70% of permanently admitted aliens come under the “family reunification preference.”
5. Among those who cannot come are: criminals, drug abusers & addicts, illiterates,
persons with communicable diseases, and mentally disturbed persons.
• Over 25 million nonimmigrant’s come here annually for temporary
stays. They include tourists, about 500,000 foreign students who
spend $13 billion a year here on tuition, and people traveling for
business reasons.
47
• Deportation – legally required to leave [deport] the U.S.
Grounds for deportation:
“I’m being
deported
out of the
country.”
• Illegal entry [hundreds of thousands each year]
• Conviction of a serious crime [particularly narcotics violators]
• Acts of disloyalty
• Illegal [Undocumented] Aliens – there are 4-6 million each
year. Most come here for economic reasons. Most who come
return within 2 years. In 10 years, 70% return.
• Most come from Canada or Mexico. [forged papers or slip across border]
• About 1 million are sent back each year [about 1/3 are repeaters – some
several times in the same year.
•
•
•
here
Most jobs held by illegal aliens are unskilled and low-paying.
Many employers were hiring them because they would work for substandard
conditions. Since 1986, it is illegal to hire illegal aliens. An employer can be
fined $250-$1,000. Repeat offenders-jailed up to 6 months. Crime to hire one.
1996 Immigration Law – toughened penalties for smuggling aliens. It prevented
them from claiming Social Security, public housing, or welfare. Border Patrol
was doubled to 10,000.
Current Immigration Reform Being Debated
• Border Security . The number of border patrol agents
would double, to
28,000, and the 370 miles of border fence and 200 miles of steel-and-concrete
vehicle barriers would increase. A fraud-proof system to verify legal status
would be created-and employers who still hire illegal’s would face fines of up
to $75,000 plus jail time.
• Legalization. After those security measures kicked in, people who were in
the U.S. illegally before 2007 could register for a “Z” visa. In 8 years, having
paid at least $4,500 in fines and fees (for one person) and learned English, Z
holders would return home to apply for their green cards.
• Guest Workers.
At least 200,000 2-year “Y” visas would be issued
annually. Workers could re-up if they left for a year and bring family if they had
health insurance and earned 150 times the poverty level.
• Point System. A new formula puts skills over family bonds: employment
criteria would be worth 50%, education 25%; English skill 15% and family ties
10%. Citizens’ spouses and minor children could still get in on the basis of
family.
• Amendments.
Proposed changes have included making English the
national language, sending immigrants home right away to register for Z visas
and keeping illegals caught at the border in jail.
Note Sheet – Civil Rights Review – Chapter 21
1. Over time, the U.S. population has become (less/more) diverse [heterogeneous].
2. Historically, white Americans have allowed minority groups to accept their equality
with (little/much) reluctance.
3. Major gains toward equality of the races have come about largely on behalf of
(women/native Americans/African Americans).
4. The Native American population dropped (drastically/very little) after the arrival of
Europeans because of disease and warfare.
5. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the result of prejudice against (Europeans/Asians).
6. The (African/Native/Asian) Americans are the fastest–growing minority group in the nation.
7. The largest of the groups that make up the Hispanic American community are the
(Cubans/Puerto Ricans/Mexicans).
8. A major reason women receive 80 cents for every dollar a man receives is that only
(low-paying/high-paying) jobs have traditionally been open to women.
9. On the issue of equality, the Constitution says that (some persons/no person) can
be denied equal protection of the laws.
10. (No/Some) distinctions such as those based on committing crimes or being
underage are acceptable.
11. The Rational Basis Test [which ask, “Does the Classification in question bear a
reasonable relationship to the achievement of some proper governmental purpose?”]
(is/is not) used to determine the validity of laws that discriminate between groups of people.
12. The Strict Scrutiny Test [requires the State to prove that some “compelling
governmental interest” justifies the distinctions it has drawn] made it (more/less)
difficult for States to pass any laws that deprive any group of fundamental rights.
13. The Strict Scrutiny Test says you cannot classify persons based on national origin,
sex, or (criminal record/race/smokers).
Jim ________
Crow
14. Racial segregation laws called ______
laws were aimed specifically at
(Native/Asian/African) Americans.
15. The (Roe v. Wade/Miranda v. Arizona/Plessy v. Ferguson) upheld the
“separate-but-equal doctrine.
16. The decision that ended legalized segregation in the public schools was
(Roe v. Wade/Plessy v. Ferguson/Brown v. Topeka Board of Education).
17. After the 1954 Brown v. Board of education decision, it (quickly/very slowly) brought
about integration of schools in the U.S.
18. (De Facto/De Jure) Segregation is segregation that is a result of law, with legal
sanction.
19. (De Facto/De Jure) Segregation is segregation that results from housing patterns
and the practice of assigning students to neighbor schools.
20. In the North, there were no segregation laws but (De Facto/De Jure) segregation
was common.
21. In Swann v. Charlotte Meckleburg Board of Education (1971), the Court said busing
(could/could not) be used to integrate urban schools.
22. One reason women have been discriminated against in the past is that the men who
held power chose to view them as (inferiors/superiors).
23. The Court has said it (is/is not) unconstitutional to exclude women from jury duty.
24. It (is/is not) unconstitutional to prohibit the sale of beer to males under 21 but to
females under 18.
25. Sex based distinctions are (constitutional/unconstitutional) when we say that men
can be drafted but women can not be drafted.
26. Laws that treat men and women differently (may/may not) be upheld if they meet
certain criteria.
27. No significant civil rights legislation was passed between 1880 and 1957 because
(Southern/Northern/Western) Democrats in Congress blocked any such legislation.
28. The Civil Rights Act of (1957/1960/1964/1968) was called the “Open Housing Act.”
29. The Civil Rights Act of (1957/1960/1964/1968) forbade employers to discriminate
based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
30. Violation of any provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant federal funds
(could/could not) be cut off.
31. ____________
Affirmative ________
Action programs are intended to make up for past discrimination.
32. Affirmative Action Programs (were/were not) designed to make the work force
reflect the general population of the community.
33. Affirmative Action Programs must be adopted by (some/all) public and private
employers who receive federal funds.
34. The response of the Supreme court to affirmative action programs can be described
as (fully supportive/non supportive/restrictive).
35. Critics of “minority set-asides” charge that giving preference to minorities is a form of
Reverse ___________________.
Discrimination
__________
Bakke decision.
36. The first major challenge (1978) to affirmative action was the ________
37. The Court has upheld quotas in cases where they (help/don’t help) overcome effects
of longstanding biases. These programs (may/may not) set racial quotas [specific
numbers] and may not exclude white applicants solely on the basis of being white.
38. In recent years, the Court has made it more difficult to prove discrimination by
putting the burden of proof on the (employer/employee).
Citizenship is determined by either of the next two methods.
39. (jus sanguinis/jus soli) – a person born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen.
40. (jus sanguinis/jus soli) – a child born abroad to an American citizen is automatically
a citizen.
41. (Denaturalization/naturalization/Expatriation) is the legal process by which a citizen
of another country becomes a citizen of the U.S.
42. Requirements for naturalization include legal entry into the U.S., literacy in the
English language, understanding of the history and government of the U.S., and
(an employable skill/filing a petition for naturalization).
43. (Denaturalization/Naturalization/Expatriation) is loss of citizenship.
44. (Denaturalization/naturalization/Expatriation) is when a person looses his
citizenship if he became a citizen by fraud or deception.
45. Undocumented aliens – thousands who enter the U.S. legally or illegally, but
(have/have not) adhered to legal procedures.
46. Over the decades, our immigration policy has been marked by a desire to
(exert/not exert) careful control over who can enter the U.S.
47. (Denaturalization/Naturalization/Deportation) is being legally required to leave
[deport] the U.S.